How I Have Come to Understand Digital Culture

This semester has been eye-opening for me. I have always been one of those people who think that it is bad to rely too much on technology, and I was proud of myself for staying away as much as I had. However, I have come to realize that digital culture and technology have a lot to offer me that I simply hadn't been willing to see before.

Perhaps one of the biggest realizations that I had came as a result of seeking social proof for my final paper about tablets and autism. I have been a bit skeptical and hesitant throughout this semester at the idea of asking strangers for help on a research paper for class. I didn't want to be presumptuous or bother anyone. However, I decided to be brave and seek out help for my final project. I joined a group about education and technology on Google Plus and posted a question. To my surprise, I received two responses almost immediately. One was an educator who had received her Master’s degree studying my very same topic. The other was the father of an autistic son. Both were very willing to help out, and being able to communicate with them helped me to understand more specifically how tablets can help students with autism. I am still amazed at how easy it was to get in touch with them and how helpful hearing their opinions was. I may try a similar strategy for other papers in the future.

Another benefit of this class is that I have noticed myself using Facebook more to connect with other people, rather than simply “lurking” and reading about their lives without interacting with them. I have actively shared things that I think my friends would enjoy as well as initiating conversations with them. This class helped me to remember that all forms of human connection are valuable, whether that is in person or over the internet. My relationships with a few friends and family members have improved as I have actively made an effort to connect with them.

I have really enjoyed Ash’s work on how parenting is impacted by our status as “digital natives”—that is, people who have grown up with technology and the internet. I haven’t really thought about how that will impact my parenting style someday until I started hearing about her research. However, it is a very relevant topic to me as I do plan on having a family someday. I think her effort to understand how digital culture will impact parenting is very valuable and very relevant. It also reminds me that I need to continue to stay informed about digital culture as I begin a family if I want to be able to help my children to understand the benefits and dangers of digital culture. Helping my future family is one of the biggest motivations that I have for continuing to learn and be involved in digital culture after this class is over. Digital culture is going to be around for a long time, and I plan to continue to learn about and become familiar with it in order to more fully understand and use it effectively in my own personal life.